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| La Venus de la poesía, 1913. |
Romero de Torres' work is very particular, easily identifiable; all the dark, indolent Spanish ladies slipping out of their clothes. When I view his work I can't help but notice that the quality and finish of his paintings are quite variable; some pieces are fairly crudely done and, given how much of his work has aged, I question the soundness of his technique. But what I always wonder first, when seeing the content of so much of his work, is how did he get away with it? I've always thought of Spain as being, until at least the middle of the twentieth century, incredibly conservative - repressed, censorious, superstitious - and under the thumb of the church; it's always been
the most Catholic country. And from what I've read, the rest of the world seemed to see it the same way. But for Romero de Torres to be as successful as he was, as celebrated, things must have loosened up earlier than I'd thought. Because there's
so much nudity in his work. And, most surprising to me, is his lavish use of the female nude in conjunction with religious iconography. Didn't the church holler at such effrontery? Wasn't the public shocked?
I'm shocked!
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| Alegrías, 1917. |
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| El pecado, 1913. |
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| Carmen de Córdoba, 1917. |
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| Retrato de Adela Carbone "La Tanagra", circa 1911. |
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| La chiquita piconera, 1930. |
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| La monja, 1911. |
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| Carmen y Fuensanta, 1925. |
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| El pozo, circa 1920s. |
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| Nieves, 1920. |
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| "Panneau", 1912. |
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| Meditación, circa 1910-1914. |
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| Joven de Córdoba recostada en una puerta, 1920. |
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| Muxidora, 1922. |
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| Gitana con jarrón grande, 1921. |
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| La niña del cántaro, 1927. |
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| La escupeta de caza, 1929. |
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| Amor sagrado, amor profano, 1908. |
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| Rivalidad, 1925-1926. |
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| Cabeza de santa, 1925. |
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| La buenaventura, circa 1922. |
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| Niña de la Ribera, 1915. |
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| Las dos sendas, 1915. |
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| Retrato de señorita de Alfonso, 1924. |
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| Retrato de Carmen Otero, circa 1913-14. |
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| Carmen, 1915. |
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| En jueves santo, circa 1920s. |
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| La musa gitana, 1908. |
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| La nieta de Trini, 1929. |
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| Nuestra Señora de Andalucía, 1907. |
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| Retrato de la condesa de Casa Rojas, 1905. |
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| Naranjas y limones, 1927. |
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| La Fuensanta, 1929. |
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| Retrato de Raquel Meller con mantilla, circa 1910. |
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| La Virgen de los faroles, 1928. |
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| Contrariedad, 1919. |
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| La saeta, 1918. |
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| La gracia, 1914. |
*
Julio Romero de Torres (9 November 1874, Córdoba – 10 May 1930, Córdoba), Spanish painter. The youngest son of painter Rafael Romero Barros, his first training was with his father who was also the founder, director, and curator of Córdoba's
Escuela Provincial de Bellas Artes. Given his family - his two older brothers were painters as well - it isn't surprising that he was interested in art from a young age; he began study at the school of fine arts when he was only ten. Later, he went on to win awards and he traveled extensively throughout Europe as he developed a personal style most closely aligned with the Symbolists. In 1906 and again in 1914 he relocated to Madrid, and when war broke out, he fought for the Allies as a pilot. In 1916 he became a professor of clothing design at the
Real Academia de Bellas Artes in Madrid. With his brother Enrique he traveled to Argentina in 1922, but he later became ill and was forced to return to Córdoba to recover. His condition continued to deteriorate, though, until he finally entered a state of delirium and died at the age of fifty-five. His former home now houses a museum dedicated to his work.
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| Self-portrait, 1898. |
Really, all you think about Spain are topics... Typical topics difunded that lot of people belive although they don't know Spain. Spain is other thing... but is easier beliave in morbid topics...If you want to see pictures of the some times that Julio Romero you can see Joaquín Sorolla and you w´ll find a bright Spain. This is only the style of Romero de Torres or Ignacio Zuloaga. Please, more documentation and less topics.
ReplyDelete"Topics"? I'm afraid I don't understand your use of that word; I think something is getting confused in translation. I gather, though, that you're trying to say that Romero de Torres and Zuloaga are not entirely representative of Spanish art. I certainly agree with you! One of the things I was trying to express in my introduction was how unusual Romero de Torres' work was in the scheme of things. And of course there are a lot of depictions of a "bright Spain" in the work of his contemporaries, certainly in the wonderful work of Sorolla. But it's also true that in the history of Spanish art there are many, many examples of "dark" painting - literal and figurative. And, aside from the prevalence of nudity in his work, I think Romero de Torres falls into that tradition.
DeleteFor "Topics" he sure meant "Stereotypes" (we use the word "tópicos" in Spanish... one of many false friend between our languages!).
ReplyDeleteZuloaga and Romero de Torres are but two of the artists that didn't share that "luminous style" people always identify Spain with, and which usually limits itself to Sorolla, but there were many others: Nonell and Gutiérrez Solana, and part of Anglada Camarasa's work to name just a few.
In any case we have always had that image of being religious and dark, fed by the Black Legend and re-fed by the image the whole world got from Francoist Spain (which yes, was repressed and censorious). In fact, in the turn of the century Spain underwent a profound change. The marriage of King Alfonso with Victoria Eugenia of Battenberg, Queen Victoria's grandaughter brought an opening to Protestantism (by the way, you should check her portraits by de Laszlo). During the 10s and 20s Culture and art bloomed again, and in the 30s the modernization process was complete. So Romero de Torres's work was made in a time where the old tradition shared its space with the modern ways, and probably that's what his work displays.
Nevertheless, to try and explain Romero de Torres's work you cannot just do it considering him "a Spanish painter". We may not be a huge country like the US, but there are huge differences between regions, and he was born and raised in Córdoba, Andalucía. They have their own religiosity, one that goes beyond the private sphere, that has to be shown around and touches many more aspects of everyday life than it does in any other part of the country. And ths you can appreciate in hiw paintigs.
"Tópicos" = stereotypes; now it all makes sense! Thank you so much for this, franzjosef! Yes, I understand what you both say. And I appreciate what you say about how Spain as a whole was changing at the time Romero de Torres was working, and how the rest of the world was slow to recognize that, holding to old stereotypes instead. And I totally get what you say about how he was an artist heavily influenced by his background, almost a "regional" artist. It seems only right to think of his work in that context. : )
DeleteOh, and I well know de László's portraits of Victoria Eugenie - and the whole Spanish royal family! : )
http://godsandfoolishgrandeur.blogspot.com/2017/06/royal-spain-portraits-of-spanish-royal.html